


After Egypt

by RoseDelSol



Series: Prideshipping Week 2016 [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: M/M, Pride shipping Week 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 20:30:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8071675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseDelSol/pseuds/RoseDelSol
Summary: (My second attempt for the Prideshipping Week Day 2: Dreams)
Yami knew it was a bad idea. He just hadn't known how bad of an idea it would turn out to be...





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nenya85](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nenya85/gifts).



> “I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream.” - Disney’s Sleeping Beauty

It had been months since Atemu had fought and won the fight against his aibou, as life found him walking towards the Kaiba mansion.  
He had been supposed to turn into a restless ghost. Instead he had been given a choice: join his friends in the Egyptian version of heaven, or live one life besides his friends in Domino City at the cost of the eternal after-life in paradise.  
It was the god's idea of fun, because how could he possibly choose between his old friends and his new friends, bound to never see the first again, if he chose Domino City, and cursed to never witness the lives of his new friends if he chose the afterlife.  
It was a cruel joke of destiny. One last strike at his fragile soul. Trying to make such a decision was like walking through the labyrinth of his shattered mind all over again. Except the labyrinth of his mind was now filled with vines of thorny roses wherever he turned.

Atemu had been just about ready to walk through the door to his own death, when he had locked eyes with Seto Kaiba, and turned around.  
The look in Seto's eyes had worked as effectively as one of his beloved white dragon's burst stream, and suddenly the thorns were gone and Atemu could see clear once more.

He had hoped it would make the difference.  
He had hoped Seto had felt the connection too.  
He had hoped it would be enough to get Seto to realise the potential they had as friends, and more.

How stupid he had been. Seto Kaiba would rather swallow glass than admit there was more between them than mutual respect and rivalry.  
And now he had fallen ill.

Mokuba had come to the Kame Game Shop, shaking in anger and fear, accusing Atemu to have put a spell on Seto once more.  
Yuugi and Atemu had tried, for hours it seemed, to explain the younger Kaiba that Atemu no longer possessed the power over the Shadow Realm, but to no avail.

And so Atemu had finally, begrudgingly agreed to come to the Kaiba mansion and... He didn't know what exactly was expected of him there, to be honest.  
Fix whatever was wrong with Seto Kaiba. Ha! The list of things that were wrong with the CEO was endless, and none of it could be fixed by Atemu. He had damn well tried, for Ra's sake!

But apparently Seto had fallen into a comatose state only hours after his return from Egypt, and no doctor could explain why he wouldn't wake up. The ex-pharao just hoped it was not another crule joke of the gods.

Atemu sighed, and walked up to the gate to the Kaiba property. Mokuba had taken his time coming to him for help, and it must have been the very last thing to try.  
Yuugi and Mokuba got along quite well, but the younger Kaiba still held a deep level of distrust towards Atemu. Not surprisingly, if the ex-pharao was honest.

Mokuba picked him up at the gate and they silently walked up the way to the house, through the door, and up the stairs until they came to a halt in front of Seto's bedroom door.  
Even through the wood, Atemu could here the beeping of various machines. He supposed they were feeding nutritients directly into Kaiba's system. 

Atemu looked at the younger Kaiba, standing beside him with a pained expression and waited.  
"All I ask is that you bring my brother back. Then you are free to leave", Mokuba said, as he opened the door. The beeping became louder and more defined. Atemu believed to hear at least three different monitors constantly giving feedback on Seto's health.

The ex-pharao entered the room and waited for Mokuba to follow, but the younger teenager stepped back and closed the door. Atemu sighed, and took a few more steps into the room.  
It was dimly light, the curtains drawn, and it smelled of hospital and old wood. And Atemu didn't know what to do.

This was not a problem he could solve with duel monster cards. There was no Celtic Guardian to lend him his sword, and no Big Shield Gardna to protect him.  
There was no Black Magician to save him from any foe. 

Hell, Atemu didn't even know if there was a foe to defeat here. He took another step towards the bed.  
He had no idea what he was going here. 

With another sigh he crossed the remaining distance to the bed and took in the scene before him.  
Seto was all but burried under the blanket, nothing but his head and one of his arms, to which various tubes were attached to, visible. On the nightstand was a dueldisk and his deck, as well as a book that looked like it belonged to Mokuba. The boy must have left it after one of his long hours watching over his brother's sleep.

Atemu sat down on the chair beside Seto and looked at the comatose man.  
"What am I doing here?", he asked, clearly not expecting an anwer.

"I'm serious, Kaiba. Why am I here?" he spoke again, deciding that he could as well talk to the Sleeping Beauty in front of him: "I didn't put you here, and if Shadow Magic was involved then I cannot help you. I no longer control it." He hesitated. 

"Right, you don't believe in Shadow Magic, or anything else connecting you to my past life. I wonder what you think about me having my own body now, how you are trying to rationalise that!", Atemu was grinning. This was probably the longest conversation he and Seto had ever had. Seto never said much, even if he was awake, and a comatose Seto Kaiba could at least not snap at him, which was a nice change.

"You do look just like the high priest, you know. And you even resemble him in character", Atemu mused. "Then again, it's his soul, so I should not be surprised. But until a few weeks ago I couldn't actually remember him, so I had nothing to compare you to."

Atemu shook his head. He was talking to a comatose Seto Kaiba who would not listen to a word he said were the CEO awake.

"I wonder what you'll say when you wake up and see me sitting here. I bet you'd be spitting mad. Breathing fire and murder me on the spot, probably." Atemu smiled.

On an impulse he picked up Seto's deck from the night stand and randomly picked a card. His smile widened and got more melancholic. Of course he would end up drawing the Blue Eyes.

Suddenly, Seto stirred, opened his mouth trying to say something. Instead he started coughing around the tube located in his throat.  
Between coughs he managed to choke a few words out: "Told you... Before. Not to touch... my deck, Moku... ba."

Atemu was worried that Seto would strangle himself with a tube, and jumped up, scattering duel monster cards over the floor.  
"Mokuba!", he shouted towards the door and then proceeded to push Seto back down, as well as try to force his arm to lay still.  
"Calm down, Kaiba. You were in a coma. Mokuba will be here any minute", Atemu tried to explain.

In this moment the door crashed open, Mokuba running into the room at full speed, coming to a slithering stop just before he could crash into the chair. "Nii-sama?"  
Seto's eyes opened slowly, and he coughed some more. 

"Get that thing off me, Mokuba", he demanded with a raspy voice.

Atemu was not sure whether Seto referred to the medical equipment or to him, so he let go of the older Kaiba and made some space for Mokuba to manoeuvre.  
The boy quickly moved in and with a murmured warning removed the tube. Seto winced but showed no other sign of how utterly unpleasant that particular experience had been. Instead he held up his arm and raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"No can do, Nii-sama. You've been out for months. Your stomach won't be able to hold too much food at the moment, so you'll still need the added nutrients", Mokuba explained.  
His expression was guarded, as if he expected Seto to shout at him. 

"I'll call the doctor to come over and do a check up", Mokuba explained quickly and hurried out of the room.  
Atemu suddenly felt really awkward. He tried to disappear into the shadow and leave the room unnoticed. Seto's eyes were once more closed. If he was careful not to make any noise, then he might be able to disappear. 

Atemu had just taken the first step, when his eyes fell on the scattered duel monster cards. He couldn't leave them like that, he know Seto would be furious if he did.  
With a low sigh, Atemu took a step towards the bed again, and bent to collect the cards.

As he placed the deck back on the nightstand, he was met with the piercing blue eyes of Seto Kaiba. Atemu froze.  
However, Kaiba didn't seem angry, rather melancholic. 

"I remember you", Kaiba spoke, voice still horse from disuse during the months of his coma: "I walked with you in my dream."

The ex-pharao remained silent, fronzen in place and held his breath. Could it be that Seto remembered him, the him from the past?

"I was there, in Egypt. You were right, your high-priest really does resemble me quite a bit", Seto continued.  
Atemu managed a small smile, and sat down on the chair once again. "I know", he said softly: "I remember, too."

They remained silent for several moments, a companionable silence, before Seto spoke again: "I like you better like this, here beside me in Domino."  
Atemu met Seto's gaze, unsure what Kaiba was telling him. 

"I'm glad you didn't choose to die."

There was something odd in his eyes, and Atemu was not sure he had the courage to truly analyse it.

"Me too, Kaiba. Me too."

**Author's Note:**

> I changed the quote a little, to fit the scene.
> 
> This has been posted on my tumblr (RoseDelSol) before.  
> The reason I even tried to write something for this prompt a second time was nenya85's comment to one of my tumblr posts, so this story is dedicated to her!
> 
> Sorry, nenya85, that it's not a real fairytale. I tried to build in as many elements of the Sleeping Beauty as I could, but well.... It didn't quite work out.
> 
> I plan to put up all days as part of a series, and add the days which have not been written yet / were not completed in time for the Prideshipping Week.
> 
> Kudos and Reviews are highly appreciated!


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